After a disappointing season so far in the Borussia Dortmund jersey, Sébastien Haller used the Africa Cup to finally add a real highlight to his career – for the BVB striker himself, it was clearly the greatest of his career to date.
With just 14 appearances this season, only two goals in the DFB Cup against lower-class opponents TSV Schott Mainz and injury problems, Sébastien Haller left BVB in January to take part in the Africa Cup of Nations with Ivory Coast.
When the Ivorians were struggling to make it to the round of 16, the attacker was not yet ready for action, but at the end of the tournament the 29-year-old still became the nation’s hero.
Haller took part for the first time in the narrow victories in the round of 16 (5:4 against Senegal) and in the quarterfinals (2:1 against Mali), in the semifinals (1:0 against DR Congo) and in the final (2:1 against Nigeria). ), the BVB star was the scorer of the winning goal.
The fact that we were able to pull off the really big coup in the end makes Haller feel incredibly happy: “This title stands above all else for me. The joy and the memories that we have given our country are unbelievable. I was on no clouds “, I was on the moon,” said the attacker in an interview with the Borussia Dortmund club media.
Haller wants to be available to BVB again as “as quickly as possible”.
A bitter side effect of the triumph: The 29-year-old, who was diagnosed with testicular cancer in the summer of 2022, suffered a re-injury to his ankle in the final phase of the final against Nigeria on February 11th, which caused him to miss the group games.
That’s why Haller will not be available to the fourth-place team in the Bundesliga after his return. “I see the boys every day and do my development program at the training ground. I want to get back on the pitch as quickly as possible,” he said before BVB’s game against Hoffenheim on Sunday (5:30 p.m.).